


Maybe in a Parallel Universe

by taeminhyuk



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: M/M, Not Beta Read, a tiny bit of angst, happy ending? error 404, jooheon is righteous, minhyuk takes the first step like...in all of my fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 00:13:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14883936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taeminhyuk/pseuds/taeminhyuk
Summary: Jooheon’s resolve in being mad for getting dragged out of bed so late in the night melts a little, even though it’s supposed to be the opposite (...) But Minhyuk could have called Wonho, the number one member who knows how to enjoy the simple things, or Kihyun, the photographer, and even then he chose Jooheon, acknowledging the fact that he would whine and complain all the way there.





	Maybe in a Parallel Universe

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys!!!! I wrote this a few weeks before Monsta X decided to announce all of our "cOME TO BRAZIL PLEASE OMG" were worth it in the end. Which means this is (poorly) set in Rio (but they're only coming to Sao Paulo irl lmao).  
> After crying with a bottle of beer in my hands because of the sudden news, I remembered this story. And I read it multiple times since then and still don't like it. I'm dumping it here just because :P

 

 Jooheon wakes up with someone nudging his sides. He opens his eyes, already annoyed. He can swear he laid down to sleep ten minutes ago.

 “Jooheon-ah! Get up!” Someone whispers on his ear, urgently, and the rapper turns to glare at Minhyuk.

 Their room doesn’t have blinds and, in theory, sunlight should be the responsible to naturally wake them up, not Minhyuk.

 He is so worn out he can’t even bring himself to ask why the hell his hyung wants him to get up now. It’s still dark out there, not even a hint of the sunrise and, after a quick look at his smartphone, Jooheon realizes it’s really ten minutes past the time he threw himself in this comfy hotel bed.

 What is this man planning at such ungodly hour?

 “Get up, get up, get up!” Minhyuk hurries him up, clutching his hands on Jooheon’s shoulders and shaking him.

 Jooheon pries the irritating hands away with a groan.

 “Go to sleep, hyung.” He mutters,rolling onto his side and throwing the duvet over his head when Minhyuk lights up the room with the flashlight of his phone.

 He only wants to get back to dreamland, but the caramel-haired doesn’t give up that easily. He grabs Jooheon’s ankles and pulls his body to the edge of the bed, until the younger is losing his balance and has to sit up before he falls.

 With a tired and impatient sigh, Jooheon stands up. Minhyuk is comparable to an obnoxious and hyperactive kid, and sometimes the rapper is sure as hell he never ever wants to have kids. Not if they’re going to be like his hyung, no.

 Minhyuk pats his head, smiling brightly.

 “Good! Now go get dressed!”

 Jooheon throws his head back, whining. “Just let me sleep, hyung, please! I’m tired.”

  Minhyuk points his flashlight on Jooheon’s face, which is the equivalent of shooting him right in the eyes. He flinches, squeezing his eyes shut and covering them with his hands, wondering what he has done to deserve this.

 “The sooner you obey me, the sooner we’ll be back here.” The older uses his wise hyung-ish tone, turning the light on and giving a rest to his phone battery. “Come on, Honey-ah, don’t be such a party-pooper.”

 When his eyes are no longer being harassed, Jooheon realizes his bandmate isn’t wearing pajamas. Jeans, and a leather coat over a  long-sleeve white shirt instead. His hair is parted in the middle, leaving the center of his forehead exposed. Too beautiful to _~~handle~~_ stay in.

 “Why are you dressed like that? Where are your pajamas?” Jooheon asks, fearing the answer.

 “We can’t go outside wearing pajamas, Jooheonnie.” Minhyuk smiles, wickedly. “By the way, I already picked out the clothes for you, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

 He hands a few clothes to Jooheon, who takes it grudgingly, and drowns his fingers on the younger’s hair, keeping it from his forehead. Although he is the human personification of the devil, he is also a caring hyung.

 Jooheon puts the oversized Eleven hoodie and the gray sweatpants aside, staring at his hyung in profound disbelief.

 “It’s four in the morning. I don’t want to go outside at four in the morning.”

 Minhyuk cocks a leg to the side and crosses his arms, impatient.

 “Who cares? Live a little.” He retorts while Jooheon is glaring at him. With a hand, he affectionately squeezes the rapper’s cheek. “You look like a baby with this pout. Just do what I’m saying, I’m the hyung.”

 He even claps his hands to hurry Jooheon up. “Chop chop! Let’s go!”

 Nobody ever wins against Minhyuk’s determination. Jooheon certainly not. He sighs and takes off his shorts.

* * *

 

 Between Minhyuk demanding him to go faster and not make any noise and Jooheon trying his best not to snap at him, they take five minutes to leave.

 Jooheon doesn’t understand why Minhyuk wants so badly to leave the hotel. He’s aware of how fucked up they both are if the manager – or Kihyun – finds out they left, and Jooheon is ready to state facts by saying it is all his irresponsible hyung’s fault and that he tried to deter him.

 Of course, none of that stops Minhyuk from taking his hand and telling him to shush with an index finger above his rose lips. He turns off the light and slowly opens the door, stepping into the hallway as if he’s walking on eggs. Jooheon follows suit, but not as exaggeratedly careful. In fact, he is praying for the manager to catch them so he can go back to sleep.

 That doesn’t happen for Minhyuk is a ~~lucky bastard~~ great strategist, and in no time they are out on the streets, the cold wind making Jooheon’s face contort into a grimace. Minhyuk, on the other hand, looks thrilled and not one bit worried about all the things that can go wrong about this little getaway.

 They arrived in Brazil just a few hours ago. It was a pandemonium in the airport and all the way to their first hotel, which was expected, but not as intense as it happened. After realizing they wouldn’t be able to sleep with the amount of fans crowded outside, singing their songs with a broken Korean and screaming members names and “saranghaes”, the staff had an idea.

 They would mislead the fans by driving the van to a random place, while the members would be taken to a smaller hotel far away from this one, where the chances of being found reduced. They didn’t inform nor ask the Plaza about possible options, in case the information got leaked.

 They drove aimlessly in an old Fiat for an hour or so until they found a simple and small hostel, seemingly far away from the city. It was three in the morning, but it took them almost half an hour to establish a communication line between them and the owner, an old chubby lady who seemed really sweet but couldn’t speak neither Korean or English. Good thing they had Changkyun, the only one who could still be smart while tired, to use a translate app to talk to her and solve their problems.

 Jooheon’s biggest fear right now, apart from being caught by the manager, is being surrounded by fans. It had happened before, more than once, and not having a security guard with them to prevent this makes him feel like a little lost kid.

 Minhyuk laces their fingers together as soon as he realizes how small and afraid he feels. He doesn’t say a word, and the only sound they hear are their own steps against the cement, cicadas chirping somewhere, and the occasional sound of Brazilian music coming from a bar or two they walk by. There are only a few light poles along the way, and some don’t work, so the illumination is scarce and gloomy, making Jooheon recall all the horror movies he ever watched in his twenty-five years of life.

 “Where are we going, hyung? Isn’t it dangerous? We’re too far away!” He clutches onto Minhyuk, completely awaken by now, his fear of dying in a foreign country looking much plausible today.

 Minhyuk chuckles and pulls him closer by the shoulders, rubbing his nose on Jooheon’s hair with such fondness the younger feels his face get warmer.

 “I’ll protect you, Jooheon-ah, you don’t have to be afraid.”

 It’s a cheesy and meaningless sentence, Jooheon knows. If somebody appears to kill or rob or possess them Minhyuk will shit his pants first thing, but the feeling of his arms around him are reassuring enough for now.

 “Hyung.” Jooheon calls again, a few minutes into the scary silence. “Just tell me where.”

 He gets an easy answer this time.

 “There’s a bridge on the road a few minutes away. Our car came from there, you were sleeping. The view seems nice, I want to share it with you.” Minhyuk flashes him a smile.

 Jooheon’s resolve in being mad for getting dragged out of bed so late in the night melts a little, even though it’s supposed to be the opposite. The seven of them, plus the manager, were supposed to sleep together in a room, but they only had three bunks in each. Minhyuk convinced the manager he and Jooheon could sleep in another room because they wouldn’t bother anyone – Minhyuk with his games and Jooheon with his snoring. Now the rapper understands why.

 He should be angry that all they’re going to do is watch the view from a bridge, but Minhyuk could have called Wonho, the number one member who knows how to enjoy the simple things, or Kihyun, the photographer, and even then he chose Jooheon, acknowledging the fact that he would whine and complain all the way there.

 He deletes all this next protests from his mind and decides to be a good friend, but whenever he hears a minor sound, his heart almost stops and he squeezes Minhyuk harder. On the third time it happens, when Jooheon squeals after a stray dog pops up from the shadows, Minhyuk stops and hugs him in order to comfort his nervous heart.

 “God, I love you so much.” He laughs on Jooheon’s ear, and the younger holds him just as tightly, breathing heavily.

 The embrace should ease his racing heartbeat, not make him more nervous. This is just one of the multiple times Minhyuk says things like this to him.

_You're so pretty. Thank you for always smiling at me. You don’t need to change anything, I like you the way you are._

And yet it feels different. It feels like the sentence just slipped from his lips, and when Minhyuk releases him – way too soon – Jooheon wonders if isn’t that exactly what happened.

* * *

 

 Trucks and cars never stop passing by on the road behind them, making the ground tremble. The constant sound is alarming to Jooheon, who has the incessant feeling they are in danger, but the man next to him looks composed and happy, and he tries his best to mirror those emotions.

 The view isn’t the most magnificent one he has ever seen, but he understands its appeal. There are lights scattered down there like small yellow dots and he can see the beach and the Tijuca Massif if he squints really hard.

 “I think it’s prettier at daytime.” Minhyuk comments, hands on the pockets of his jeans. “But this is the only time we have.”

 Jooheon rests his arms on the railing, looking at the empty streets of Rio de Janeiro and wondering how the show will be tomorrow night. The group heard the tickets were sold out in less than an hour, and he can’t wait.

 “I like it now.” He says, turning his head to face the other beautiful thing on his sight. “Why did you want to come here, hyung?”

 For a few seconds, only the heavy sound of the traffic behind them is audible. Minhyuk looks away, staring into the new moon right above them. 

 “I miss being a normal person and doing crazy things sometimes.”

 Jooheon sighs and pats his back. When their eyes meet he can see the same tiredness, the same fears and the same insecurities reflected in Minhyuk. It shouldn’t make him feel safer, but it does.

 “I can’t even remember the last time I went home.” The rapper adds, leaning his back on the railing and watching Minhyuk play with a pebble on the ground.

 “Me neither. Jooheon, I…” He halts, unsure if he should keep going or not.

 “What?”

 “No, it’s nothing.” He throws the pebble down the bridge with his foot, angrily.

 Jooheon hold his arm gently to call his attention, what forces Minhyuk to look up.

 “What, hyung?”

 They stay in a stare game for a while, which is disconcerting for Jooheon and the unresolved flipping on his stomach. Minhyuk’s expression seems to get softer by the second, until he bites his lower lip, frowns and looks away.

 “You can tell me everything, you know that.” He encourages him.

 “I just told you.” Minhyuk pauses. “I miss having control over my own life.”

  This is a common topic among idols, but not enough in Monsta X. None of them dare to complain about any sleepless nights or poor health or lack of privacy because they remember how tough their trainee days were and, wanting or not, this is part of their dream. They might as well embrace it too.

 That's why it feels weird to hear it coming from Minhyuk's mouth. He spent months being harassed for having debuted with the rest of the group, and all that he ever wanted was to earn the fans’ love and admiration, like he has now.

 “What would you do with all this control?” Jooheon has to ask. He had thought about it himself, but for some reason he can’t see happiness in any other scenario that doesn’t involve him being part of Monsta X.

 “Kiss you.” Minhyuk replies, bluntly. “The way I imagine ever since we met.”

 Jooheon’s heart skips a beat with the sudden confession. All the vocabulary vanishes from his mind, leaving him dumbly looking at Minhyuk with his mouth ajar but nothing to say. It brings back the butterflies on his stomach. The ones he forced to stay quiet and unbothered throughout the years.

 “We need to go back.” He manages to speak, trying to sound as serious and unwavering as he can, but the eyes in front of him are glistening and it’s hard to resist.

 “Don’t lie to me, Jooheon-ah.” Minhyuk mutters. He is close and Jooheon hasn’t realized it until now, and it only makes harder to breath. “I know you want to kiss me too.”

 The butterflies throw a tantrum, and Jooheon sucks in a breath in order to recover his rational thinking.

 “Hyung, you’re hallucinating.” He musters up a chuckle. “It must be from the lack of sleep, we should go back.”

 Minhyuk grasps the railing behind Jooheon, locking him on the space between his arms, dangerously close now. The sudden change of atmosphere is making the younger sweat, but he can’t do this.

 “I love you.” Minhyuk utters. It sounds firm, but masks a hint of fear and rejection, as if he actually isn’t _that_ sure about Jooheon’s feelings for him. “You don’t have to say it back. Just let me kiss you. Once.”

 Jooheon is at a loss of words, even more now, as if he has forgotten how to function like a human being. He can see himself reflected in Minhyuk’s eyes, all his confusion showing shamelessly.

 He doesn’t know how they got to this point. The previous morning he was sure he was doing a great job at pretending Minhyuk was nothing but another group member, not special to him in anyway, but here he is now.

“I can’t.” Jooheon whispers, and he is tearing his own heart apart by saying that.

 Minhyuk flinches and nods his head, straightening his posture and taking his hands off the railing. It’s hurtful to be rejected. He turns to the road, back facing Jooheon, and his fingers rake through the caramel hair. Frustrated and lost, but he can’t say he is surprised.

 “I can’t, because if I do it once I’ll have to do it again, and I’ll never stop.” Jooheon speaks, loud and firm enough for the older to hear it clearly above the traffic noise.

 Minhyuk turns on his heels again, his face in a mix of surprise and disbelief.

 “I love you too.” Jooheon gives in, voice softer. “But I can’t have you.”

 “I’m yours.” The older Lee states, as sure as if Jooheon had asked him how much 2+2 is.

 “You know what I’m talking about, hyung…”

 “We can hide.” Minhyuk approaches him again.

 Jooheon laughs, humorless, wishing it were so simple. He loves his life and is proud of everything he has accomplished until now, but he doesn’t like hiding. Who does? If somebody ever find out they’d be screwed, their careers would end, and Monbebe would leave.

 “Look how far we’ve come.” He can’t handle the look of desolation on Minhyuk’s eyes, but he knows he has to say it. “Do you think it's worth it to put everything at risk? Think about No.Mercy. About the people who didn't make it, how disappointed in us they would be if the group disbanded because of us. Think about the other five."

 He hates that those words are coming out of his mouth, but they’re nothing but the truth. It isn’t just about themselves, it’s about everybody who once crossed paths with them and had their dreams crushed. It’s about the five guys who are sleeping in the hostel right now, their brothers, the ones who they share their dream with. It’s about their families, who endured through tough times and believed in them until the day of their debut.

 Minhyuk is stubborn, but he can’t refute any of this and his eyes are brimmed with tears. Jooheon despises himself for being the one to do this to him, especially when he is fighting so hard not to let go and kiss him with all the will and longing and passion he hid for ages.

 He keeps his hands to himself, aware that one touch it’s the only thing keeping him away from throwing everything he just said down this bridge.

 “I know you’re right.” Minhyuk says, looking to the horizon behind Jooheon. “But I wish it could be different.”

 “In a parallel universe”, Jooheon smiles, attempting to cheer his hyung up, “We’re living together in a cramped apartment working our asses out to pay the rent. But I don’t care, because I love you and wouldn’t trade what we have for the idol life.”

 It doesn’t fail to make Minhyuk smile and tears roll down his cheek. He quickly wipes them away.

 “Are we happy?” He asks, and Jooheon is sure, wherever this parallel universe is, it’s perfect.

 “Of curse we are, hyung.” He feigns impatience. “But we fight sometimes because the house is a mess and none of us want to clean it.”

 “We can solve this problem by dialing our favorite maid.” Minhyuk smirks, teasingly, and Jooheon laughs out loud imagining Kihyun in a maid dress, nagging at them inside their own house.

 "I think..." Minhyuk ponders a little, as if talking about parallel universes require Math. "There's another one where we're idols, and together, and nobody has a problem with it."

 “Yeah.” Jooheon gets quieter. “I wish we were in that one.”

 “Me too.” The other nods, sucking in a resilient breath. “Let’s go back.”

 Jooheon takes one last look at the view before taking Minhyuk’s hand. They walk back to the hostel in silence, but Jooheon’s mind is screaming. It takes a lot to do the right thing.

* * *

 

 They strip from their clothes and put back their pajamas. It’s almost six, and the manager will wake them up in an hour or two, but Jooheon doesn’t regret leaving with Minhyuk. He sits by the edge of his bed, watching the older only on his boxers and a T-shirt folding his clothes and haphazardly placing them on top of his suitcase.

 He flashes a sad smile at Jooheon.

 “Good night, Jooheonnie.” He says, turning off the light and plopping down on his bed.

 Jooheon wonders if his parallel selves know how lucky they are.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I just LUB the idea of having honeypup interactions in my motherland, I LOSE MY SHIT JUST IMAGINING IT.
> 
> Promise I'll have something better next time (orrr I could just accept I suck at writing jfbvhwjak). Bye <3


End file.
